Alex stirred. He was laying down and an enticing scent filled his nostrils. He couldn't place it exactly but it was spicy and woodsy, like cedar or cinnamon. He inhaled deeply, the scent suffusing his brain and making him smile. A warmth that turned into a fire in his belly.
"Awake are we?" A soft but deep voice asked, a cool cloth being placed against his forehead. Alex opened his eyes to a smiling face leaning over him, dabbing his head gently. "Don't sit up, the healer said you were suffering dehydration and sunstroke. You've been ordered to bed rest." It took Alex a moment to focus on the face above him. Tanned skin, and bright blue eyes, his dark hair was short but shaggy, and equally dark stubble covered his jaw. The owner of the face was young though, maybe only a couple of years older than Alex, in his early twenties.
"Where am I?" Alex croaked out hoarse. He lifted his hand to his still aching shoulder, expecting to find a bandage or something similar, but all he found was unbroken skin. Had the encounter with the wolf been a fever dream? It felt so real, but his fingers continued to prod unbroken skin. Could it have been a hallucination?
"Dicktin Village, we found you passed out on the edge of town. This is my father's inn." The voice said, still gentle as he pulled back, setting the cloth and a bowl of water aside on the nightstand beside the bed. "Name's Flint. Drink." Alex felt a ceramic mug pressed to his lips, and opening them, he felt cool water rushing into his mouth and he gulped it down eagerly.
"Alex." He said after satisfying his thirst, and turned to get a better look at the owner of the face he had woken up to. Sitting in the chair besides the bed, he was obviously fit and well muscled, though not overly bulky. The laces at the top of his shirt were undone and open, showing off a chest lightly dusted with dark hair. He smiled and leaned back, a smile passing over his face as Alex looked him over.
After a moment, Alex tried to push himself up in the bed, but a gentle but firm hand gripped his shoulder and held him in place. "No, you need to rest, and rest as long as you need. This room is yours until you feel better." Alex sank back down into the mattress, earning a satisfied nod from Flint.
"I can't pay. I.. I don't have anything." Alex said softly, looking about him at the room that seemed nice enough, even if it was like something out of a Fantasy movie.
"I'm aware. Not everyday a completely naked young man is carried into the common room. Usually the naked ones are getting tossed out." Flint's eyes moved down Alex's form under the blanket and he felt his cheeks flushing. Alex had never been what anyone would call a ten, probably not even a seven, but the look Flint was giving him in that moment was.. Well, it made Alex's cock twitch to be looked at like that. "Rest up and I'll bring you some dinner in a bit, okay?"
Alex nodded his head, earning himself a beaming smile from Flint. The other man stood and walked out of the room, giving Alex one last parting glance, though Alex couldn't help but notice that spicy scent that had been filling his nostril faded with Flint out of the room, though didn't completely dissipate. He sniffed the air, then reached out and grabbed the cloth Flint had been wiping his forehead with and brought it up to his nose, getting a good whiff of that scent once more.
What was he doing? Alex shook his head and set the cloth aside, pushing himself up into a sitting position. He promised to rest, not to stay laying down. He sighed as he leaned back against the wall, the sheet sliding down his torso. He scratched at his chest, then frowned and looked down. He gripped one of the pectorals that he could see for probably the first time in his life. He had never been athletic, or even muscular, and probably no one would call him such now, but his chest definitely had some definition that wasn't there this morning. Curiously he gripped his arm and flexed, frowning at the more solid feeling of his arms.
Alex reached down to pull up the sheet, but stopped as soon as he heard a knock on the door right before it opened. Flint gave him a bit of a half annoyed and half amused look as he came in carrying a tray that was wafting all sorts of good smells, that woody spicy smell coming back strong as well. "Well, at least you stayed in the bed." Flint placed the tray down on the nightstand, moving it so Alex could reach it easier. "Eat up, then sleep. The healer is going to come back to check on you in the morning. I'd stay, but I need to help in the common room. I'll try to check in every so often though."
Alex nodded, offering only a soft, "Thank you." Which earned a beaming smile from Flint. He restrained himself only long enough for the other man to leave the room before digging into the dinner ravenously. Soon, he was satiated on roast beef and potatoes, and drifting off in the bed once more.